Note: Kira will be one of our guest speakers in the Writing Kid
Lit course this spring. See here.

Hi, Brian.

Fiction on the Web reprinted my flash piece “To
Do List.” So for anyone who’s interested but couldn’t find it on the Brilliant
Flash Fiction Springtime Contest site (where it was the last, alphabetically by
author, of the short-list!) it’s right here.

The editor,
Charlie Fish, does a nice job of presenting people’s work. The site welcomes
comments if you’re moved to make one - and as always, if you know anyone you
think would enjoy this, please feel free to share.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Manhattan offers a lot of activities, especially if you work
part-time. My favourite is people watching. I used to people watch at the
Staten Island Ferry Terminal and in Times Square. A lot of tourists crowd these
locations and they’re easy to identify, but I prefer watching native New
Yorkers. New Yorkers are more interesting.

My favourite people-watching targets are not those people waiting
impatiently at the ferry terminal or rushing through Times Square. I like
observing the people living in the upper floors of towering residences. Especially
in the building across the street from my apartment.

A friend of mine told me about a shop that sells quality optical
instruments, like nautical brass spyglasses and the modern equivalent, the
floor standing telescope. It’s the perfect tool for people watching.

Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time observing my neighbours.
For the most part, they’re rather boring people. Just when they appear inspired
to do something interesting, they’ll draw the curtains across their windows and
I’ll have to guess what it is that they’re up to.

But for one couple across the street, I don’t have to guess. In
the past three months that I’ve been people watching them, they’ve never drawn
their curtains. Because they live in a corner suite on the thirty-fifth floor,
they must assume that no one can see them or what they’re doing. They assume
wrong.

I don’t know who they are. Let me call them Bill and Mary. Two
business professionals living busy lives. I’ll bet they’re married, but I’ll
also bet they’re not happy. Bill may have an office job somewhere. He travels a
lot; suitcase going away, suitcase coming home. Mary works from their condo.
Most days I see her sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop.

When they’re home together, they look and behave like everyone
else. In the kitchen, preparing dinner; in the dining room, eating dinner; in
the living room, watching TV; in the bedroom, sleeping. Except on Saturday
nights. Every Saturday they get dressed up and go out. When they return, they
go into their bedroom and make love. Boring, unhappily married love.

Bill and Mary are young, attractive and healthy. Most mornings
they go jogging together. After jogging, Mary has her shower first. After, she
sits on the bed and dries her hair while Bill is in the shower. Then Bill gets
dressed and leaves. Mary wraps herself in a towel and wanders around their
condo, alone, drinking coffee and talking on her cellphone, before getting
dressed and opening her laptop.

Last month, Mary’s routine changed. On Monday mornings, shortly
after Bill leaves, a gentleman visits Mary. I’ll call him Derek. Mary takes him
into the bedroom and closes the bedroom door. Derek pushes her against the door
and kisses her passionately while she tries to loosen his tie and undo the
buttons on his shirt. He backs up a step, her towel falls to the floor, he gets
undressed and the two of them embrace and fall on the bed. Saturday night sex
may be boring, but Monday morning sex is very, very not boring. After, they
have a shower. Together. I can’t see inside the shower, so I don’t know what
they’re doing, but they seem to spend a lot of time in there.

I’ve always thought Derek was aware of Bill, but that Bill wasn’t
aware of Derek. I was wrong!

Last Monday, Derek appeared about twenty minutes after Bill had
left the condo. Mary led him to the bedroom and closed the door. Things
progressed as before, and Mary and Derek were soon on the bed enjoying an
extended lovemaking session. I don’t know how much noise they were making, but
neither heard Bill when he re-entered the condo.

Bill parked his suitcase by the door and opened the hall closet.
He lifted a small black case off the top shelf and put it on the kitchen table.
He unlocked the case and removed a handgun, then removed a silencer from the
case and screwed it onto the end of the gun’s barrel. He looked down the hall
toward the bedroom and tilted his head a little. He was listening. He sat at the
kitchen table. He didn’t move.

I swung the telescope so I could see Mary and Derek again.
Shortly, they got off the bed and headed into the shower. I looked for Bill. He
was walking down the hall toward the bedroom. He put his ear to the door and,
satisfied with what he heard, slowly opened the door. He stepped into the
bedroom and pointed the handgun into the shower. He raised the gun to eye level
and fired.

I looked toward the shower. No one came out. Bill lowered the
gun and walked back into the kitchen. What just happened? Did I really want to
know? Slowly, I stood up and moved toward the wall. Flat against it, I
slithered to the window and closed the curtain. When I sat down again, I was
shaking.

If you’re looking for a floor-standing telescope, there’s a good
one for sale on eBay. Like new, only used for three months. Really, the ferry terminal makes for better people
watching.

***

James
Bryan Simpson,
recently retired from former employment as a pharmacist, a pharmaceutical
industry medical scientist and a medical writer, now enjoys the freedom of
writing fiction. At times, plots and characters materialize or dilemmas resolve
during long walks with his two dogs on the rural property he shares with his
wife, Jan. In addition to writing, he also enjoys managing his woodlot,
gardening, and spending time with his four granddaughters.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown
Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post
delivered to your Inbox. Also, if you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an
email, including your locale to brianhenry@sympatico.ca~Brian

Supposed CrimesPublishers
seeks stories
that feature lesbian or bisexual heroines across a variety of genres, including
thriller, paranormal, mystery, military, western, fantasy, and science fiction.
Sexual content is not a requirement, but a compelling emotional connection between
women should be a primary focus. Pays royalties.

Fairy
Tales –
A speculative Anthology: "We are looking
for stories that feature lesbian or bisexual heroines across a variety of
genres, including thriller, paranormal, mystery, military, western, fantasy,
and science fiction. Sexual content is not a requirement, but a compelling
emotional connection between women should be a primary focus." 2,500 – 15,000 words.

The Mesdames of
Mayhem are 16 established crime fiction authors and editors who together
support each other’s work and aim to promote Canadian crime fiction. We have
released two anthologies of our stories to give readers a chance to get to know
us and our writing:Thirteen(2013) and13 O’clock(2015), both with Carrick Publishing.

Several of the stories
have been short-listed for the Arthur Ellis Best Short Story Award and the
Derringer. This year we are releasing our third anthology,13 Claws.
Each of the stories is centred on an animal. The animal may be real or
fantastical and must be pivotal to the plot.

To encourage new
writers, we are holding a free contest inviting anyone who has not yet published acrime fictionstory to submit it to our editors. The
winner or winner(s) will have their story published in13 Claws, receive a free copy
of the book and share in the royalties with the other contributors.

The deadline for
submission isMarch 15, 2016.
Rules for submission may be found on our website atwww.mesdamesofmayhem.com

Many thanks,

M. H. Callway

Founder, Mesdames of
Mayhem

“Fiction on the
Web is a labour of love,” says editor/publisher Charlie Fish. “Every single story on here is hand-picked
and carefully edited by me. I don’t have a staff, and I don’t make any money. I
do this because I want to give authors a chance to get their work out there,
and I love sharing great stories with the world.”

FICTION on the WEB is accepting short story submissions in the following
genres:

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

St.
Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, Georgetown, Ontario (in the village
of Glen Williams (Map here.)

See details of the Wednesday evening course in Burlington here. And see details of all classes offered this spring, from beginner's to advanced here.

This courseisn't for beginners; it's for people who have been writing
for a while or who have done a class or two before and are working on their own
projects. Over the length of the course, you’ll
be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All
your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may
be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the
instructor will give short lectures at the start of class, addressing the needs
of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and
receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the
greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a
piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a supportive group
and a rewarding class.

Read reviews of Brian’s intermediate
courses here, and see other reviews here.

Instructor Brian Henryhas been a book editor and creative writing
instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox,Canada's
most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University
and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to
Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get
published.

Don't ever
miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right
under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. Also, if you’re not
yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale to brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian

Prospect Agency represents both adult and
children’s books (picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade and
young adult), both writers and illustrators. All six agents are seeking new clients,
but three are of special interest to new authors:

Kirsten Carleton is the newest member of
the team, and like all new agents, she needs authors. Before joining Prospect Agency in 2015, Kirsten learned the agenting
ropes at Sobel Weber Associates and the Waxman Leavell Agency.

She fell in love
with working on writers while getting her B.A. in English with a Creative
Writing concentration from Amherst College, and cemented her fascination with publishing with a
Graduate Certificate in Publishing from the Columbia Publishing Course and
internships at Charlesbridge and Liza Dawson Associates.

As an agent,
she loves sharing an author's vision for the book, working to help him or her
uncover it, and finding a home for it with editors and readers who also feel
that connection. Beyond the individual book, she wants to develop satisfying
and successful careers that celebrate great talent. Follow her on Twitter:
@kirstencarleton

Kirsten is
currently seeking upmarket YA and adult fiction with strong characters and
storytelling, across speculative, thriller, and literary genres. She's drawn to
books that capture her attention early on with a dynamic plot, and innovative
storytelling that blends or crosses genres.

In
particular, she's interested in novels that bend and blur genres; literary
takes on high concept world-building; diverse characters in stories that are
not just about diversity; antiheroes she find herself rooting for; characters
with drive and passion; girls and women in STEM fields; settings outside the
US/Europe; well-researched historical settings; YA noir/thriller/mystery;
stories that introduces her to a new subculture and makes her feel like a
native.

Linda Camacho joined Prospect Agency in 2015 after
nearly a decade in publishing. After graduating from Cornell
University, Linda interned at Simon & Schuster
and Writers House literary agency, and worked at Penguin before happily
settling into children's marketing at Random House.

She has an MFA in creative
writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Unofficially, Linda loves chocolate, travel, and far too
much TV. Follow Linda on Twitter: @LindaRandom

Carrie Pestritto is an experienced agent, having joined
Prospect in 2011 after working as an assistant at Writers House. With a B.A. in
English from Amherst College, she has
experienced all sides of the publishing industry, having worked as a
ghostwriter, freelance writer, and as an intern in the editorial acquisitions
department of the Greenwood Publishing Group.

As an agent, she loves the thrill of finding new authors with strong,
unique voices and working closely with her clients to develop their ideas and
manuscripts.

For Carrie, extraordinary fiction and
nonfiction share the ability to transport readers to new and exciting places.
As a history and mythology buff, she is intrigued by books that introduce her
to another culture or time period. She is looking for description and detail
that will make her feel like she is inside the story and interest her in a
subject she never thought she would want to read about—or, conversely,
introduce her to startling facts about something or someone she believed she
already knew everything about.

Carrie is currently seeking:

Narrative nonfiction

Biography and memoir

Commercial fiction with a literary twist

Fresh chick lit

Contemporary romance

Upmarket women's fiction

Near-historical fiction (from about the Gilded
Age on)

Mystery/thrillers for a female audience

High-concept YA fantasy

Diverse YA and upper MG

MG with a quirky voice

Biographical, educational, or cultural picture
books

For nonfiction projects, Carrie looks
for authors who have a strong platform, such as a popular blog, published
articles, or related professional experience. She loves memoirs that bring her
into a very atypical life situation, such as Suzanne McMinn's Chickens
in the Road, and nonfiction that reveals little-known aspects of history.
Cutting edge relationship or dieting books, pop psychology, and pop science
also interest her.

In the fiction arena, Carrie is drawn
in by relatable characters, fantastic voices, strong heroines, unusual
premises, or re-imaginings of classical books. She loves feeling connected with
characters and immersed in the world she is reading about, whether that be 19th
century Holland or a land ruled by elemental magic.

Brian Henry will be leadingHow to Get Published workshops on Saturday, Jan 28, in Toronto with
Stacey Donaghy of the Donaghy agency (seehere)
and on Saturday, April 22, in Midland, again with Stacey Donaghy (seehere).Note:If you're viewing this posting after March 11,
2017, see current How to Get Published workshopshere(and
scroll down).

Also, Brian will lead a freeWriting Query Letters that Get a Yes seminar Monday, January 30, in Kitchener, (see here),How to Build Your StorySaturday, Feb 4, in Mississauga (seehere)
and Saturday, Feb 11, in Caledon at the Bolton library (seehere),Writing and Revising,Saturday, Feb 25, in Burlington (seehere),
Saturday, March 4, in London (seehere),
and Saturday, March 25, in Toronto (see here).

Also, he'll leadHow to Write a Bestselleron
Saturday, Feb 18, in Guelph, with New York Times #1 bestselling authorKelley Armstrong(seehere).

Author Kira Vermond will
be one of the guest speakers
at the Kid Lit course

And Brian will be leadingWriting for Children & for Young Adultsworkshops
on Saturday, April 1, in Windsor (seehere), on Saturday, May 13, in Caledon at the Bolton
Library with Yasemin Uçar, senior Editor at Kids Can Press (details to come)
and on Saturday, May 27, in St. Catharines with Anne Shone, senior editor at
Scholastic Books (seehere). Brian will also be leading a weeklyKid
Lit class,Monday afternoons, April 10 – June 19, in
Mississauga (here).

Note:For
updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops and
for weekly Kid lit classes, seehere(and scroll down).

For more information or to reserve a
spot in any Saturday workshop or weekly course, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

To move closer to publication, your best bet may be
a weekly course. Some winter classes still have space available:

Navigation tip:For
many more literary agents seeking authors, click on the Literary Agents button
at the top of the page, just below the banner. To see only Canadian agents,
click on the button in the right-hand column under More Content. To see only
agents representing kid’s lit, click on the Children’s/YA agents button in the
list of Labels below.

Brian Henry has been a book editor, writer, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University. He also leads weekly creative writing courses in Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville and Georgetown and conducts Saturday workshops throughout Ontario. His proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.